Abstract

We propose to acquire FAST spectra of 167 bright 2MASS-selected
(K_s < 13.5) galaxies in the northern NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey
field (NDWFS). The resulting redshift sample will serve a number of
important uses in what is expected to become a dataset of primary
importance: this field will be observed by SIRTF/IRAC in January 2004
and is expected to, in effect, define the properties of 'local' galaxies
in the infrared. Amongother things, the proposed FAST spectra will be
used to understand the luminosity function for the brightest objects, to
understand the relationship of galaxy type to infrared emission, and to
anchor the much anticipated photometric redshift schemes that will be
modeled and extrapolated to moderate/hight redshifts for any number of
SIRTF-derived galaxy samples (i.e., not just the shallow survey).